The Scotsman - Polar history shows melting ice-cap may be a natural cycle

Yet another group of people has thought to look back at the historical record and has found (gee, what a surprise) that climate fluctuates without any help from mankind. Add these to the people who understand that even prehistory had ice ages and periods between ice ages, and maybe we'll finally get a little sanity injected into the discussion about 'global warming'. We can only hope.

THE melting of sea ice at the North Pole may be the result of a centuries-old natural cycle and not an indicator of man-made global warming, Scottish scientists have found.

After researching the log-books of Arctic explorers spanning the past 300 years, scientists believe that the outer edge of sea ice may expand and contract over regular periods of 60 to 80 years. This change corresponds roughly with known cyclical changes in atmospheric temperature...

But then, we of course shouldn't allow ourselves to be relieved.

Robin Harper, a Scottish Green Party MSP, said that while he hoped Arctic sea ice would return, it could actually be a false sign of hope that global warming was not as serious as previously thought.

"All it would prove is that global warming doesn't affect that particular cycle," he said.

"There would be no reason for us to be complacent if it comes back."

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for intelligent stewardship and clean air and healthy rivers and hearty forests. My problem is with the people who couldn't grow radishes in a home garden using their pet theories, who none-the-less insist on filing lawsuits and having judges try to micromanage land use, etc. Taking care of the natural world is a serious business that ought to be in the hands of grown-ups with adequate education and minds that adjust to circumstances, in my humble opinion. And, as it happens, protecting private property rights so people have something to gain by taking the long view has seemed to work time and time again. It's a shame people keep wanting to replace it with coercion.

For a site that features ongoing looks at stewardship (among other things), see http://www.acton.org/.

For a different take on the matter, Michael Crichton's novel State of Fear is still selling well, and I guess gives puffed up activists a pointed jab or two. (I haven't read it, but the fuss over it has been loud and quite public.) I tried to pin down when it's coming out in paperback, but so far have struck out. It's available in hardback, large print, and audiobook (abridged and unabridged).